Good morning disciples of the Lord!

Matthew 13:10-17 says,

• And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”  He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s Kingdom.  You know how it works.  Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them.  Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understanding flow freely.  But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears.  That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight.  In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it.  I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:  Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.  The people are blockheads!  They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; they screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with Me face-to-face and let Me heal them.  “But you have God-blessed eyes – eyes that see! And God-blessed ears – ears that hear!  A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.”

So, we want to be sure that when we hear the Word of the Kingdom, we put it into our hearts and minds by meditating on it day and night and then apply ourselves to understand what is being taught.

We are told in Proverbs 3:5-6 to,

• Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding; In ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and HE shall direct and make straight and smooth your paths.

Why don’t we want to do this? Because Proverbs 14:12 says,

• There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death.

When we give with Word first place in our lives by:

1. Inclining our ears to God’s sayings,

2. Not letting them depart from our eyes, and by

3. Keeping them in the midst of our hearts,

We will have life and health!

When we do these things, our hearts will not become dull; our ears will not become hard of hearing; our eyes will be able to see and our hearts will be able to understand.

You want to please the LORD, I know you do!  So, continue in His Word; keep your heart open to the LORD’S correction, and do all you can to walk by faith and not by sight – This is what pleases the LORD.

“Father, I thank You for making my readers complete in every good work to do Your will.  Continue to work in them what is well pleasing in Your sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be all the glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

Heeding the Word of God,

Lisa Gordon

Assistant Pastor

Jesus City Church